Chez

...and 10 hours of it too. The Guantanamo mix.

Franny was a poor player too. We should have let him go years before we did. Part of the reason we struggled for many years was having players of his ability. Chris Fucking Perry. One of the shittest signings we have made imo. Small centre back that was central to our struggles. You have basically made my point for me. Two players with lots of experience, but outweighed by their weaknesses on the pitch.

He was really shite in the 2022/23 relegation season and he wasn't all that last year. He looks like he has lost a yard of pace and he had zero impact going forward in games. He looked bloody good in the Championship, but maybe that equates to him only being good enough for the Turkish league now?

Wood has played almost 100 games, Edwards 140, THB 160 plus 27 England u21 caps. Bednarek has 290 games and 69 Poland caps, Charlie Taylor has 300 games... Just how many games/seasons does a player need before he is considered a senior player that knows what he is doing? These guys are not novices. They don't need Stephens to hold their hand. Stephens might be older and played have more games, but so fucking what? All that matters is how good a player is, not how old or many times they have played. Chelsea get the right striker and keeper this summer and they challenge for the title, with or without a 30 year old centre back offering advice. Other facets? Dressing room influence. What the fuck does that even mean or matter? The only facet that matters is how good a footballer he is and Will Still should be deciding that on what he sees in training and in matches. Besides, who remains at the club that is actually qualified to decide if he has the facets that make him worthy of a three year deal, the goalkeeping coach?

How has Will Still come to the conclusion that he's worthy of a three year deal? He's not even seen him play yet.

Would it not have been more sensible to wait until the end of next season and offer a contract based on his performance and the league we are in?

You misunderstood the phrase, which is about having both water carriers and creative types. It has nothing to do with having a blend of youth and experience, which is what the discussion was about. Besides, he's a CB. Not sure any CBs can be described as violinists, so we could have any CB in the side and that would give us a roadsweeper.

'Violinists and roadsweepers' refers to the need for both flair players and worker types, nothing to do with having young and old players. You have a point though. Stephens is a committed Saint and deserves better than having fools like me questioning his value. It's done now and lets hope he is lifting the Championship trophy next spring,

We pay managers a shit load to look after young players. We also have a load of coaches to educate and motivate.

It's very similar. Very baffling. I sometimes think management overplays the need ofr old heads, experience, dressing room voices etc. IMO management sometimes needs to take a step back and just see what fans see - performances on the pitch, or lack of them - as ultimately that is what really matters. If Still had done that, he'd of found a player not up to the task, which is to get us promoted and keep us up. I thought the new management might have the advantage of not having a long relationship with players and thus be able to judge them on performances alone. Looks like that is not the case and they have gone for some sort of "safe" route of giving an older player they can "trust" a long contract. Why on earth not see what he can do in pre season or even this season and then make a decision next summer. If he chooses to leave, so what?

I'm not a hater of Stephens, but I struggle to understand why a player who couldn't get a game for us in the championship last time around and did nothing to suggest he was PL quality last season gets three more years. Were we concerned he might walk on a free next summer? really? To who? No one in the PL is trying to sign him and no one in he championship is paying him what we do. We should not be giving second and third contracts to players. if they have not been snapped up by sides bigger than us, then that says everything about them. Not good enough, time to try again with another player. We seem to have zero confidence in our own scouting.

I prefer Downs to Agyamang from the clips I have seen on youtube (that's all i have go on as not seen either in a full game yet), but it will be interesting to see how they compare.

Bree would have continued the equine theme.

It's far from simple. It's neigh on impossible. Sargent is going to Burnley and Sainz to Porto. We cant compete there, likewise, Hackney is linked to Sunderland. Realistically, Hamer and Burrows aren't leaving Sheff United for us.

Yep. Got loan written all over him...if we are lucky they pay the majority of his wages.

...you need a buyer though.

Brugge spent €17m on a striker a few seasons ago.

Who though? Players mentioned on here often are pie in the sky. Brownhill and and Sainz for example or not signing for championship sides. Who are these out of favour PL players you mentioned? I've seen Ferguson mentioned, but I can't see him dropping down a division. And that's the issue. Signing quality is very difficult in the championship.

Yes. We are on the verge of signing a new striker. A price seems to have been agreed. Edozie has been linked with Bruge, but no negotiations have taken placer. Ramsdale hasn't been sold yet - he's at training looking happy. I think that's about it for today, so far.

Thanks. If they prefer Neto to Ramsdale, that's fine by me.

What does spend the money on "quality you know" manifest into in terms of a player you think we should be signing this summer? Ben Mee rather than Quarshie perhaps? Josh Maja instead of Downs?

the club or the fans?

I'll be happy to assess that claim

I watched them a fair bit last season including taking in a couple of games at St Andrews. They are a decent outfit.

BT makes it look better than it is...Glenn, not so much